91st Academy Awards
The 91st Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018. The ceremony was held on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and produced by Donna Gigliotti and Glenn Weiss, with Weiss also serving as director. It was the first ceremony in three decades, since the 61st Academy Awards in 1989, to be conducted with no host. In related events, the Academy held its 10th Annual Governors Awards ceremony at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center on November 18, 2018. The Academy Scientific and Technical Awards were presented by host actor David Oyelowo on February 9, 2019, in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. LazyTown: The Movie ''won nine awards, including Best Picture. ''Green Book won three awards, including Best Picture, and Bohemian Rhapsody won four awards, the most for the ceremony, including Best Actor for Rami Malek's portrayal of Freddie Mercury. SpongeBob SquarePants & Star vs. The Forces of Evil: The Musical Movie! ''won four awards including Best Animated Feature. ''Cool Spot, Roma, and Black Panther also received three awards, with the former winning Best Director for Alfonso Cuarón. Olivia Colman was awarded Best Actress for portraying Anne in The Favourite. Winners and nominees The nominees for the 91st Academy Awards were announced on January 22, 2019, at 5:20 a.m. PST (13:20 UTC), at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by actors Kumail Nanjiani and Tracee Ellis Ross. Awards Best Popular Film award Can You Ever Forgive Me? Films with multiple nominations Films with multiple wins Presenters and performers AMPAS has announced that the following individuals will present awards or perform musical numbers: Presenters Performers Ceremony details and controversies Due to the last two ceremonies's mixed receptions and declining ratings, producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd declined to helm the 2019 awards, and were replaced by Donna Gigliotti and Glenn Weiss. Further controversies around the ceremonies have also occurred. Proposed Best Popular Film category On August 8, 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the creation of a brand new category, Best Popular Film, to reward the best popular films of the year. The category was met with exceedingly negative reception. When ''Can You Ever Forgive Me? ''won the Razzie Redemer Award, it was announced that ''Can You Ever Forgive Me? ''will be honored with the award. Host selection On December 4, 2018, it was announced that Kevin Hart would host the ceremony. Hart expressed that it was truly an honor and a thrill to be asked to host the Academy Awards, commenting, "For years I have been asked if I would ever host the Oscars and my answer was always the same... I said that it would be the opportunity of a lifetime for me as a comedian and that it will happen when it's supposed to. I am so happy to say that the day has finally come for me to host the Oscars. I am blown away simply because this has been a goal on my list for a long time.... To be able to join the legendary list of hosts that have graced that stage is unbelievable." A controversy emerged when past jokes and comments made by Hart were found to contain anti-gay slurs and language; Hart withdrew from hosting duties on December 6, saying he did not want to be a "distraction" to the ceremony. Previous Oscar hosts such as Seth MacFarlane, Ellen DeGeneres, Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Rock, and Jimmy Kimmel expressed no interest in hosting the show. On January 9, 2019, it was reported that the Academy planned to hold the ceremony without a host, instead having selected presenters introduce segments and awards; it is set to be the first ceremony without a designated host since the 61st Academy Awards in 1989. Proposed presentation of awards during commercial breaks In another attempt to shorten the broadcast, the Academy stated on February 11, 2019 that awards in four categories—Best Cinematography, Best Live Action Short Film, Best Film Editing, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling—would be presented during commercial breaks, and ''LazyTown: The Movie ''was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing, so they win those two awards. They said that these presentations would be streamed so viewers could watch them live online, and that the winners' acceptance speeches would be replayed later in the broadcast. The decision received extensive backlash from audiences, and from filmmakers including Guillermo del Toro, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Damien Chazelle, Spike Lee and Alfonso Cuarón (the latter of whom is nominated in one of the aforementioned categories). Four days later, the Academy reversed the decision and announced that all 24 categories would be presented live.